


Small Town

by DarkJediQueen



Series: A Universe of Meetings [29]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, One-Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 19:05:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18644239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkJediQueen/pseuds/DarkJediQueen
Summary: It was desolate, the battle long over but still Aaron swore he could see the dead in his eyes.





	Small Town

**Author's Note:**

> **Year** : Any  
>  **Spoilers** : General Series Spoilers  
>  **Notes** : This is a One-Shot, no more will be written in the world.  
>  **Beta** : Grammarly
> 
> Based off of this image

There was something so haunting about the battlefield in front of him. It had been over two hundred years since a battle had been fought on the land, but Aaron still thought that he could hear the dead, see the dead. The trip had been a spur of the moment after Aaron had needed to get away from DC after a case. He had needed to clear his head and just started to drive. He wasn't sure exactly how many states he had crossed, but this little area wasn't a big draw of tourists, it was mostly a local site where a battle had been fought in the Revolutionary War but had no real significance except to the area. Still, with the fog covering it, it looked like something right out of a movie where a ghost or a zombie was going to pop up and try and kill him. 

The sound of a twig snapping had Aaron turning, reaching for a gun that wasn't there. 

"Good morning," the man said as he nodded at Aaron. He was wearing a shirt that screamed local cop, so Aaron relaxed. When he moved, a little more Aaron could see the name stitched into the shirt as well as the badge and the fact that he did not have his hand on his gun. 

"Good morning," Aaron said back. 

"This area is closed at the moment. I figure that you came through the back and missed the areas were the signs are talking about the few sinkholes that have popped up. We have a crew coming in on Monday to start to work on the issues," the officer said. 

"Oh, I didn't see them, and I did come from the road behind here. I just a few things that looked interesting and just started to walk and ended up here."

"You'd be the abandoned vehicle registered to Aaron Hotchner?" The officer quirked an eyebrow up and looked at where most men kept their wallets. 

Aaron pulled his wallet out and showed his regular driver's license. The officer stepped up to where he could read it and then relaxed. 

"Good, then I'll call off the search in the woods. We have tourists get lost a lot in this area and can't get out." The officer activated his radio and spoke into it for a few minutes with a man on the other end. 

Aaron used that time to look at him. He was small, thin and willowy that didn't speak to someone who was a cop. Still, this was a small area, and Aaron figured that it wasn't a high crime area.

"Would you also be the same Aaron Hotchner who worked a crime with the BAU two counties over six weeks ago?" The officer asked.

"Yes." Aaron knew that his name was peculiar and easy to remember for a lot of people, so he wasn't shocked a cop put it together. Aaron showed him his credentials just as Aaron's stomach growled. Aaron gave the man a smile. "Sorry."

"You can't help what your body does. Why don't you join me for breakfast? I'm just getting off shift. I took the last call when someone noticed that a car had been parked for two hours in an area that isn't high traffic." 

Aaron nodded his head and followed the officer back to their cars. The police cruiser was parked right behind Aaron's. Aaron looked into the front seat and took in the books that were piled in the passenger seat. A voracious reader and given the subject matter, smart as fuck. And working as a patrol officer in a dead end town. That made no sense.

The diner that Aaron followed the officer to was not that busy, but it was a little early, even for small-town life. Aaron ordered coffee while the officer talked to one of the older men who were in the place. The waitress rang up Aaron's food and then rang up the officer's and cleared it after getting the total. Aaron saw that there was a sheet with names and one was the officer's. Spencer Reid. So he had the first name to go with the last. 

Reid settled in at the table that Aaron had taken. It was turned so that for the most part both of them had a good view of the restaurant. 

"So how did someone with your obvious IQ end up here?"

"How do you know that I don't have those books for show? Those who can't read make a show of it so that no one thinks they are strange."

"Except they would not go for texts as advanced as those. I don't follow science that much but those are pretty advanced."

"I was driving from coast to coast when I turned twenty-one and had earned my three Ph.D.s and my two bachelors. I wanted to see the country before I settled into a job somewhere. I had seen a few different headhunters, but I didn't want a job doing science. It was fun, but I didn't want to do it for a living. There was a group of malcontents coming through town, and I just happen to get mugged by them. From my hospital bed, I solved who they were even though I had never seen them based on the questions asked. They got all five, and the Chief of police offered me a job if I could pass the police academy. I've been here since. "

"How?"

"The lectures of Jason Gideon and David Rossi that I had gone to when I was in college and Rossi's books. It's not hard to teach yourself. So I get all of that training that I can, and I'm loaned out a good bit to neighboring areas when they have issues."

Aaron made plans then to stay for a few days to get to know this man. Personally, he seemed like a challenge and Aaron liked challenges. He was looking forward to it.

**Author's Note:**

> I write fanfiction for fun. It's a hobby and a stress relief. I refuse to stress over my writing. What you see is what you get. Errors, plot holes, and all. Thank you for reading my story! 
> 
> I can be found on MeWe (a FB replacement that's better) [here](https://mewe.com/i/beccaqueen1), join me there and we can discuss my fics and whatnot. My writing page for the moment is kind of dead in the water on a FB front as links are being banned for content.


End file.
